Category: Celebs

“The Enforcer” Starring Antonio Banderas and Kate Bosworth – The Trailer is Here!

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I’m diggin’ the trailer for The Enforcer starring Antonio Banderas and Kate Bosworth.  Definitely deal me in!

Miami’s top mob enforcer Cuda (Antonio Banderas) sacrifices it all to tear down the criminal organization he’s spent his whole life building up when he discovers his boss Estelle (Kate Bosworth) is putting a young runaway’s life in grave danger. Now he has one last chance to make up for his past and find redemption – both for himself and his family – before the mob hunts him down for his betrayal.

“Project Legion” Starring Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone – The Poster and Trailer are Here!

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The poster and trailer for Project Legion check all the boxes that get me to want to watch.  I even like that the star is Donald Cowboy Cerrone, one of the toughest UFC fighters in the world!  Fingers crossed for a great “drive-in” movie!

Against all odds, a former marine tries to escape his apartment after waking up to a city in chaos surrounded by creatures who prey on humans in the action/thriller PROJECT LEGION starring UFC superstar Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone.

“Red Stone” (2021) Starring Neal McDonough, Dash Melrose & Michael Cudlitz / Z-View

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Red Stone (2021)

Director: Derek Presley

Screenplay by:  Derek Presley

Starring: Neal McDonough, Dash Melrose, Michael Cudlitz and Billy Blair

Tagline:  None

The Overview:  Beware of spoilers…

Motley Adams (Melrose) witnessed his older brother killed by order of Jed Haywood (Cudlitz), a local crime boss.  Now Motley is on the run from Haywood’s thugs led by a hitman named Boon (McDonough).  The local sheriff and the F.B.I. are looking for Motley too.  It’s just a question of time… and time is about to run out.

With McDonough and Cudlitz in the credits, I was expecting more.  Although Red Stone clocks in at just 97 minutes, it felt longer.  That’s never good.  There’s lip service paid to a subplot about Boon’s mom that could have been totally cut for all the impact it had.  Red Stone has some interesting ideas, but unfortunately the execution isn’t up to the same level.

Red Stone earns 2 of 5 stars.

The Day the Music Died: The Story of Don McLean’s American Pie (2022) / Z-View

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The Day the Music Died: The Story of Don McLean’s American Pie (2022)

Director: Mark Moormann

Starring: Don McLean, Peter Gallagher, ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic, Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, Jiles Perry “J.P.” Richardson Jr. aka The Big Bopper, Garth Brooks, Brian Wilson  and Tyson Fury

Tagline:  None.

The Overview:  Beware of spoilers…

In December 1971, Don McLean’s American Pie single was released.  It went to #1 and held that position for four weeks.  At the time it was the longest song (8 minutes and 42 seconds) to enter the Billboard charts.  At the time a single of that length was unheard of.  American Pie was a worldwide hit topping the charts in the UK, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand.  Fifty years later and people of all ages know the words to the song, but speculation runs rampant about their meaning.

Don McLean wrote the song as a musical poem open to interpretation.  While McLean admitted that “the day the music died” referred to the plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper, speculation was that the song also referenced the assassination of John F. Kennedy, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Janis Joplin, Bob Dylan, political protests and more.  McLean would never confirm or deny the meaning of his lyrics.  He was quoted as saying, “You will find many interpretations of my lyrics but none of them by me … Sorry to leave you all on your own like this but long ago I realized that songwriters should make their statements and move on.”

The Day the Music Died: The Story of Don McLean’s American Pie looks at the genesis of the song, it’s impact on the world and Don McLean shares the meaning of the lyrics.  I was in 7th grade when American Pie was released.  Everyone, including adults, were talking about the song and it’s meaning.

I enjoyed this documentary.  It was cool to see the struggle McLean had in getting the lyrics just right.  Then to learn (and see) that the producer and musicians knew that they had something special, but the recording session wasn’t working until.. (I won’t give it away),  While I’m glad that Don McLean has confirmed the things that inspired his lyrics, I’m taking the perspective that like all poetry, once it’s released, it is up to each individual to determine what the poem means to him/her.

The Day the Music Died: The Story of Don McLean’s American Pie earns 4 of 5 stars.

“Dead for a Dollar” Directed by Walter Hill, Starring Christoph Waltz & Willem Dafoe – The Trailer is Here!

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Walter Hill as the director gets me on board… Christoph Waltz and Willem Defoe are icing on the cake.  Dead for a Dollar?  Yep, deal me in.

Veteran bounty hunter Max Borlund is deep into Mexico where he encounters professional gambler and outlaw Joe Cribbens – a sworn enemy he sent to prison years before. Max is on a mission to find and return Rachel.

Cast: Christoph Waltz, Willem Defoe, Rachel Brosnahan, Benjamin Bratt

Available in THEATERS, on DIGITAL and ON DEMAND, September 30th, 2022

Magnum Force (1973) Starring Clint Eastwood / Z-View

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Magnum Force (1973)

Director: Ted Post

Screenplay by:  John Milius, Michael Cimino from a story by John Milius based on characters created by Harry Julian Fink, R.M. Fink

Starring: Clint Eastwood, Hal Holbrook, Mitchell Ryan, David Soul, Tim Matheson, Kip Niven, Robert Urich, Felton Perry, Maurice Argent, Richard Devon, Tony Giorgio, Jack Kosslyn and John Mitchum

Tagline:  Clint Eastwood is Dirty Harry in Magnum Force

The Overview:  Beware of spoilers…

Someone is killing criminals who have escaped justice in court.  As the dead bodies pile up, Inspector Harry Callahan (Eastwood) begins to suspect that the killer is a cop.  As Harry continues his investigation, he discovers that he is now on the killer’s hit list!

Clint Eastwood returns in the second outing as his most popular character, Dirty Harry Callahan.  Magnum Force is Eastwood’s favorite Dirty Harry film.  It’s easy to see why.  The screenplay by John Milius and Michael Cimino provides a great response to critics who said Dirty Harry is a fascist vigilante.  Plus Eastwood’s supporting cast includes several stars on the verge of their breakout roles (David Soul in Starsky & Hutch, Tim Matheson in The Quest and Robert Urich in S.W.A.T.).  Hal Holbrook is perfect as Lt. Briggs, Calahan’s supervising officer.

Magnum Force provides a great showcase for Eastwood doing what he does best; playing the loner who despite “the system” gets the job done. Eastwood starts and ends Magnum Force with memorable dialogue.  The film opens with a repeat of the “Do you feel lucky, punk?” speech and ends with “A man’s got to know his limitations.”  In between we see Harry react to situations (Eastwood has facial expressions that rival Vince McMahon’s), stop a hijacking, being hit on (in different ways) by women and bad guys and overcoming the odds win the day.

Magnum Force earns 4 of 5 stars.

“The English” Starring Emily Blunt – The Teaser and Trailer are Here!

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The teaser and trailer for The English starring Emily Blunt has me on board.

An epic chase Western, The English takes the core themes of identity and revenge to tell a uniquely compelling parable on race, power, and love. An aristocratic Englishwoman, Lady Cornelia Locke, and a Pawnee ex-cavalry scout, Eli Whipp, come together in 1890 middle America to cross a violent landscape built on dreams and blood. Both of them have a clear sense of their destiny, but neither is aware that it is rooted in a shared past. They must face increasingly terrifying obstacles that will test them to their limits, physically and psychologically. But as each obstacle is overcome, it draws them closer to their ultimate destination—the new town of Hoxem, Wyoming. It is here, after an investigation by the local sheriff Robert Marshall and young widow Martha Myers into a series of bizarre and macabre unsolved murders, that the full extent of their intertwined history will be truly understood, and they will come face-to-face with the future they must live.

THE ENGLISH Trailer (2022) Emily Blunt

“The Gauntlet” (1977) Starring Clint Eastwood / Z-View

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The Gauntlet (1977)

Director: Clint Eastwood

Screenplay by:  Michael Butler,  Dennis Shryack

Starring: Clint Eastwood, Sondra Locke, Pat Hingle, William Prince and Bill McKinney

Tagline:  Clint Eastwood is the man in the middle of The Gauntlet

The Overview:  Beware of spoilers…

Ben Shockley (Eastwood) is a Phoenix cop who drinks too much and does just enough to get by on the job.  So when Police Commissioner Blakelock (Prince) personally choses him to go to Las Vegas to extradite a “nothing witness” for a “nothing trial”, Shockley doesn’t think too much of it.  Gus Malley, the “nothing witness”, turns out to be Augustine Malley (Locke).

Malley claims that she is has information on government officials with mob ties and that she’s been targeted for execution.  She tells Shockley that he was chosen because no one would question him not getting her safely back.  When Shockley and Malley are nearly killed, he realizes she’s right.  Important people with ties to the mob and police have made it their mission to kill Shockley and Malley… and Shockley’s made it his to get her back safely to testify!

Ben Shockley is the opposite of Dirty Harry, but Eastwood is just as convincing in this role.  Gus Malley is played by Sandra Locke, Eastwood’s off screen lover at the time.   Pat Hingle has a small but important role as Shockley’s friend on the force.  William Prince is excellent as the slimy Police Commissioner.  Eastwood puts just the right amount of humor in The Gauntlet.  And how about that Frank Frazetta poster?

The Gauntlet earns 4 of 5 stars.

“Coogan’s Bluff” (1968) Starring Clint Eastwood / Z-View

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Coogan’s Bluff (1968)

Director: Don Siegel

Screenplay by:  Herman Miller, Dean Riesner, Howard Rodman  from a story by Herman Miller

Starring: Clint Eastwood, Lee J. Cobb, Susan Clark, Tisha Sterling,  Don Stroud, James Edwards, David Doyle  and Albert Popwell

Tagline:  A Prisoner On the Loose, A Cop Over the Edge. This Town Ain’t Big Enough for the Both of Them.

The Overview:  Beware of spoilers…

Walt Coogan (Eastwood) is a Deputy Sheriff sent to New York City to extradite James Ringerman (Stroud), an escaped murderer, back for trial in Arizona.  What Coogan thought would be an easy pick-up/return, turns into a mess when he learns Ringerman overdosed on LSD and is being held for medical clearance.  Coogan gets no assistance from Lt. McElroy (Cobb) who views Coogan as a “Texas” bumpkin.

Rather than wait for Ringerman to be cleared, or go through the days of paperwork to get an override for extradition, Coogan bluffs his way into the medical unit and gets custody of Ringerman.  On the way to the airport, Coogan is jumped and badly beaten by Ringerman’s crime partners.  With no police support, Coogan makes it his mission to track down Ringerman and get him back to Arizona!

Eastwood was born to play characters like Walt Coogan. Don Siegel and Eastwood make a great team (and Coogan’s Bluff is a nice warm-up for Dirty Harry).  Coogan’s Bluff isn’t a comedy, but there is a nice amount of humor mixed with the action.  Folks who only know David Doyle from Charlie’s Angels will get a kick out of him playing a tough guy.  Coogan’s Bluff was the basis for the hit series McCloud starring Dennis Weaver.

Coogan’s Bluff earns 3 of 5 stars.

Me Time (2016) Starring Kevin Hart and Mark Wahlberg / Z-View

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Me Time (2016)

Director:  John Hamburg

Screenplay by:  John Hamburg

Starring: Kevin Hart, Mark Wahlberg and Regina Hall

Tagline:  This is not what he had in mind.

The Overview:  Beware of spoilers…

Sonny (Hart) and Huck (Wahlberg) were buddies who loved to party and push the limits.  But that was 15 years ago.  Sonny is now a stay-at-home dad who takes care of his successful wife (Hall) and two kids.  Sonny volunteers daily at his kids’ elementary school,  He has no time for outside interests.  When Huck invites Sonny to a weeklong celebration, he declines.  Sonny’s wife convinces him that he should take some “me time”.  She’ll take the week off of work and reconnect with the kids while Sonny spends time with his old friend.

Sonny agrees.  It may be the worst week of his life… if he survives.

Me Time goes all out to be funny.  It has its moments, but unfortunately many of them are more gross than funny: pooping in a bucket, pooping on his wife’s boss’ bed, Sonny getting caught by his young daughter as he pleasures himself and sticking his wife’s boss’ cooking utensils down his pants are just a few examples.  Another problem is the things that happen in a scene have no impact once the scene ends.  Sonny is badly clawed by a mountain lion. Audience laughs.  Move on.  Sonny has his hand smashed by a bill collector.  Hand is shown mangled.  Audience laughs.  Move on.  The pranks that Huck and Sonny pull at his wife’s boss’ house should get them arrested.  Move on and have the boss soon become friends with Sonny.

Me Time has a it’s moments.  If you like gross comedy where reality is secondary to jokes and you’re a Kevin Hart fan, then you’ll probably like Me Time better than I did.

Me Time earns 2 of 5 stars.

“Samaritan” (2022) Starring Sly Stallone / Z-View

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Samaritan (2022)

Director:  Julius Avery

Screenplay by:  Bragi F. Schut

Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Javon ‘Wanna’ Walton, Pilou Asbæk, Dascha Polanco, Sophia Tatum, Moises Arias, Martin Starr and Jared Odrick

Tagline:  25 Years Ago the World’s Greatest Hero Vanished

The Overview:  Beware of spoilers…

Sam (Walton) is a thirteen year old who lives with his single-parent mother (Polanco) in an apartment in a rough part of Granite City.  Sam’s a latchkey kid since his mom has to put in a lot of hours at work.  Sam spends a good deal of his time researching Samaritan.  Samaritan was a superhero believed to have died twenty-five years ago along with the villainous Nemesis (who happened to be his twin brother!). while they were fighting in a burning building.

Sam has come to think that Joe (Stallone), a garbage man who lives in an apartment across the street is Samaritan!  Despite the mounting evidence, Joe denies he’s the missing superhero.  As Sam comes home one day, some gangbangers jump and begin beating him.  Joe rushes to the rescue, displaying super strength as he runs off the thugs.  Now Sam and Joe are in the sights of the gang led by Cyrus ( Asbæk)… who plan to kill the old man…

Sly Stallone is back!  He’s excellent in the role of Joe/Samaritan and supported by a well-cast group of actors.  Javon Walton is extremely likeable in the role of Sam.  Often child actors have a hard time finding the balance of cute and instead come off annoying.  That’s not the case with Walton.  I expect big things from him in the future.  Pilou Asbæk, Dascha Polanco and Sophia Tatum are also excellent. Asbæk is a great bad guy.  I’d love to see him play an anti-hero in the future.  Polanco and Tatum aren’t given a lot to do, but when they’re on screen all eyes are on them.  I hope to see more leading parts for them in the future.  I enjoyed Julius Avery’s direction.  He’s not flashy, but puts the camera in the right place to maximize drama and/or action.

If you’ve seen the Samaritan trailers, there’s a dialogue change from the trailer to the film which is great for a surprising laugh.  Joe is hit by a car and left mangled in the street, he starts starts to heal and in the trailer Sam asks, “Are you okay?” Joe responds (in pain), “I’m cool.”  In the film the same set-up but this time Joe’s response is, “F*** no.”  I burst out laughing.  That was well-played.

There’s a twist in the film that happens near the end.  I won’t give it away, but will say I absolutely did not see that coming.  I loved it.  The twist took the story up a notch.  As to the Samaritan story itself, some folks are complaining it’s too simple.  I agree, it is simple, but let’s not lose sight that Samaritan is modern day mythology.

Samaritan is a tale of good vs evil.  Another theme is that good and evil live can live in each of us and we have to decide which way we will go.  If you’re okay with a story about super-heroes who happen to be twins… with one being good and the other being evil… that takes place in a town called Granite City… and a young boy who is searching for the missing hero and finds him living basically next door… and the missing super hero now has a job as a garbage man (a person who cleans up the city) but you want a more complex tale, you may be missing the point of the modern mythology that is being created.  Or Samaritan may not be for you.

As for me, I loved the ride.  At first I thought Samaritan would be a movie best loved by younger kids.  But later in the film, it gets darker and then there’s the twist.  I still think teenagers and adults open to this newly created mythology will enjoy Samaritan.  If I was going to pick any nits, it would be the fire cgi used in the extended fight scene at the end.  But why nitpick when Samaritan is such a fun time.  I hope to see a sequel — it certainly opens the door for more movies or a tv series.

Samaritan earns 4 of 5 stars.

“Machine Gun Kelly” (1958) Starring Charles Bronson / Z-View

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Machine Gun Kelly (1958)

Director: Roger Corman

Screenplay by:  R. Wright Campbell

Starring: Charles Bronson, Susan Cabot, Morey Amsterdam and Richard Devon

Tagline:  Without His Gun He Was Naked Yellow!

The Overview:  Beware of spoilers…

Charles Bronson, in his first starring role, plays Machine Gun Kelly in this fictionalized account of the gangster’s exploits.  Machine Gun Kelly was also the first gangster film directed by Roger Corman and the film that Corman said began to get him respect as a filmmaker.  It was also the first feature film for Morey Amsterdam, who plays the flamboyant Fandango.

Machine Gun Kelly isn’t bad for a low-budget film shot in just eight days.  Reviews were generally good.  There is one unintentionally funny scene that I call Fandango the Escape Artist Who Brought Down Machine Gun Kelly.  If you’re a Charles Bronson fan, it’s definitely worth a watch.

Machine Gun Kelly earns 2 of 5 stars.

“SECTION 8” Starring Kwanten, Lundgren, Mulroney, Adkins, Rourke – The Poster and Trailer are Here!

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Section 8 has a cast, plot, poster and trailer that has me sold.  Deal me in!

After avenging the murder of his wife and child, a former soldier (Ryan Kwanten) is sent to prison with a life sentence. He’s given a shot at freedom when a shadowy government agency recruits him for an off-the-books assignment. He soon realizes Section 8 isn’t what it seems.

Starring Ryan Kwanten, Dolph Lundgren, Dermot Mulroney, Scott Adkins and Mickey Rourke
Directed by Christian Sesma

“100 Rifles” (1969) Starring Jim Brown, Raquel Welch and Burt Reynolds / Z-View

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100 Rifles (1969)

Director: Tom Gries

Screenplay by: Clair Huffaker, Tom Gries based on The Californio by Robert MacLeod

Starring: Jim Brown, Raquel Welch, Burt Reynolds, Fernando Lamas, Dan O’Herlihy andHans Gudegast (aka Eric Braeden)

Tagline:  None

The Overview:  Beware of spoilers…

Joe (Reynolds), robbed a US bank and used the money to purchase 100 rifles which will be used by Yaquis to fight the Mexican army led by General Verdugo (Lamas).  Sheriff Lyedecker (Brown) tracks Joe to Mexico and finally catches up to him in a small Mexican town.  General Verdugo learns of the rifles and thinks Joe and Lyedecker are partners, so he sentences them to death by firing squad!  They escape and join Sarita (Welch) and other Mexican revolutionaries.  But the Mexican army is close behind…

Any movie with Jim Brown, Raquel Welch and Burt Reynolds should rate at least three stars.  100 Rifles is the exception to the rule.  The movie lacks real tension.  We see a bit of Reynolds’ loveable rogue film persona, but since he’s the third billed actor there’s not enough to save the film.  Brown and Welch are the stars, but together they lack chemistry.  Their love scenes don’t feel sexy which is surprising since they were two of the hottest sex symbols of that time.  Tom Gries is a competent director who did most of his work in television and quite often 100 Rifles feels like a movie made for tv.

100 Rifles earns 2 of 5 stars.

Samaritan: JoBlo Interviews Pilou Asbæk PLUS Sylvester Stallone On Playing A Superhero!

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Exclusively streaming on Amazon Prime Video starting on August 26, Samaritan is a gritty superhero flick that sees Stallone playing Joe Smith, formerly the Samaritan, a super-powered vigilante thought to have died years ago, hiding in plain sight as a normal everyday guy, but is forced to come out of retirement due to crime on the rise! And we here at Joblo are excited to sit down with Pilou Asbæk for an EXCLUSIVE interview, while the great Sylvester Stallone weighs in on his first superhero movie!